Where does “Schwarzarbeiter” come from?

Schwarzarbeiter (German) comes from German Schwärz, from Middle High German swarz, from Old High German swarz, from Proto-West Germanic swart, from Proto-Germanic swartaz, from Proto-Indo-European swordo- — dirty, dark, black.

Schwarzarbeiter (German): illicit or illegal worker, clandestine worker,...

Definitions

  1. illicit or illegal worker, clandestine worker,...

Ancestry of “Schwarzarbeiter”, step by step

Schwarzarbeiter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Schwärz

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchwärz—
2Middle High Germanswarz—
3Old High Germanswarzblack
4Proto-West Germanicswartblack
5Proto-Germanicswartazblack
6Proto-Indo-Europeanswordo-dirty, dark, black

via German arbeiter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanarbeiterworker male or of unspecified gender
2Middle High Germanarbeiterday laborer; craftsman
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swordo- →Every word from Proto-Germanic swartaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic swart →